Removing hydrocarbons from water

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are usually a product of incomplete combustion of organic materials (wood, leaves, but also plastics, rubber and fossil fuels) or they can be extracted from certain materials (e.g. asphalt). Many of these substances have shown to increase the risk of cancer.

To remove them from water, adsorption methods are used: filtration through activated carbon or the coagulation process. Like for most other impurities, reverse osmosis can also be used to reduce PAU concentration.